


Joye

by julemmaes



Category: The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Labour, Love, M/M, New Baby, Next Gen, Pregnancy, arianna baby, fairondale baby, gracestopher baby, jordelia baby, lucie is preggo as fuck, thomastair baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:20:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26423263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julemmaes/pseuds/julemmaes
Summary: Matthew and Lucie have a very large family. All of their friends and couisins have already settled down and with at least one baby each, they never fail to remind the young newlywed couple they’re the only ones without a suckling. That’s why they can’t wait for their little girl to be born. Something might get in their way though and stop them to share that special moment.
Relationships: Alastair Carstairs & Thomas Lightwood, Alastair Carstairs/Thomas Lightwood, Ariadne Bridgestock & Anna Lightwood, Ariadne Bridgestock/Anna Lightwood, Charlotte Branwell/Henry Branwell, Cordelia Carstairs & James Herondale, Cordelia Carstairs/James Herondale, Grace Blackthorn & Christopher Lightwood, Grace Blackthorn/Christopher Lightwood, Matthew Fairchild & Lucie Herondale, Matthew Fairchild/Lucie Herondale, Tessa Gray & Will Herondale, Tessa Gray/Will Herondale
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If I gotta be honest, and I usually am, this short story was born because of this prompt, “I’m a writer and when it gets close to my deadlines I neglect taking care of myself so you’ll pop in my house every so often to make sure I’m doing okay.” AU. I think I’m gonna write a lil drabble when I post every part, cause my ideas kinda drifted (the fuck) away from the prompt, but I really wanna write the original idea, so yeah. Hope you enjoy it and leave a comment if you want, I’d appreciate that!

“Oh, shit.” exclaimed Matthew grabbing the cup before it could fall and shatter on the floor. The milk was now everywhere and the cereals, with all the dye they contained, had created a green-red blot on the white drawers. 

  
He heard someone huffing loudly in the living room. “Language!" Cordelia screamed, entering the kitchen with only a heel on her feet while she put on an earring. “Poam, Math. _Poam_.” she chided with a deep frown on her face. _Presence of a minor._ Matthew clenched his jaw. 

  
They had adapted that term a few years earlier, when Aaron, Anna and Ariadne’s son, had said a bad word on a class trip. A bad word they hadn’t want to repeat at first, from how bad it was, and Matthew had had to threaten Anna by telling her that if she didn’t tell him, he would ask Aaron. A threat to which Ariadne had responded with a very hard punch on the blond’s shoulder. Still today he didn’t know what his nephew had dared to pronounce.

  
Because of that episode, the young mothers  hadn’t been  the only ones to get a share  of crap from all  the parents, but also Cordelia and James, who were always with them. And the following year it  had been  Thomas and Alastair’ s turn , when they had brought their girls, Elise and Amélie, to the same  school .

  
Owen, who was now smiling with a shit-eating grin on his face, nodded. “Yes, uncle. No bad words.” 

  
It was impressive how much he looked like James sometimes. Not so much in  the  appearance, but in  his behavior. The black hair was so dark that it often looked like a single compact block of curls, and the enormous eyes, like  those of a fawn, were of an even darker black. Darker than  his mother’s, for sure.

  
Matthew was about to answer him, ready not to consider the  _ poam _ rule again, but Cordelia, who  passed by behind his son, looked at him  severely before he could open his mouth. “ You, i nstead, stop throwing cereal on the floor. I’ve already told you a hundred times that if you don’t like something you put it aside or give it to someone else.”

  
James made his elegant entrance wearing a black suit. Matthew shook his head, shocked by all that beauty. “Take a cloth and clean it up.”

  
The little boy’s black head  snapped to the figure of his father, who, settling the  cufflinks , opened his eyes wide, making him understand that he was not  joking . Matthew, who was still bent in the puddle of milk, struggled to hold a laugh and both parents gave him a cautionary look.

  
Owen threw his head back, complaining, “But I can’t.”

  
“Don’t you always say that you are a big boy? And that you can do it all by yourself?" Cordelia asked him, putting on her other shoe and hopping around. James came up and gave her a smile and grabbed her elbow to keep her stable. Owen had a lovely pout on his face.

  
“I’m not big, I’m only five years old.” he crossed his little arms to the chest.

Matthew snorted out of his nose, “ Easy, like that." Owen turned to him, looking at him badly.

  
James glared at him, “ Stop it.”

  
“God, sometimes I feel like I have three children instead of two.” sighed Cordelia.

  
James' face lit up, "Today is a good day," he approached the sink taking a  cloth and wetting it, starting to clean up the mess, " i f you don’t include me in the group ' c hildren'.”  h e said to his wife.

  
A desperate cry erupted in the hallway and James was about to  stand up , alarmed, but Cordelia waved at him and walked to their daughter’s room, Bea.

  
Matthew looked at his friend as she hurried on her heels to reach the  bed room and wondered how it was possible to have such small children and still have that impeccable appearance.

  
“Would you finish cleaning it up, Owen, please?”

  
“I don’t know how to do that.” the child’s lower lip began trembling and Matthew knew that he would soon burst into tears too.

  
James smiled and  extend ed him a hand, helping him get  off the chair. A tear fell on Owen’s cheek and Matthew  felt his heart  clench . “I  can  teach you." said James, although he had already explained it many times. Another tear.

  
“Baby, why are you crying?" his father asked, kneeling so that they both were at the same height.

  
Owen put a dirty hand on his eyes,  and somehow  got chocolate on his nose. Matthew looked at the table confused, there was nothing that contained cocoa there.  _ Where the hell does he keep the snacks? _ He asked himself mentally, promising to ask his nephew how he could hide them from his parents.

  
“Cause mom’s angry.” Owen sniffed.

  
James chuckled, “No, buddy, she’s just very stressed out because of her job.” he moved a rebellious curl off his child’s forehead. “But you have to stop throwing food on the floor, because that stresses her out even more, okay?” Owen nodded, closing his little hand inside James’s.

  
“Here me out, what if tonight when I pick you up from uncles Math e Luce’s place, we stop at the super market and take mom’s favorite thing?” he whispered to the child, who immediately began to nod excitedly. “Speaking of uncles." he said then, talking to him. “How is Lucie?”

  
Matthew ran a hand through his hair, snorting. “She’s not great.”

  
“Did something happen?" James asked concerned, picking up Owen to wash his hands. “I thought she was bedridden.”

  
“And she is." Math reassured him. She’d been in bed for the last three weeks following a little accident that scared the hell out of them all. “But the deadline for the book is close and, so close to the end of her pregnancy, this thing is making her more nervous than she should be.”

Cordelia, who had come back and was holding her daughter on her side, frowned. “I told her to relax and to call the publisher.” She sighed. The little girl had red and swollen eyes from crying, but she was sucking the pacifier and holding her hand tightly around her mother’s necklace and seemed  calm .

  
“Uncle, is JJ okay?" asked Owen with little voice.

  
Matthew looked at him smiling, “Of course  buddy , soon we’ll get her out of  a unt Lu’s belly and we’ll  finally  get to know her.”

  
“I want to be the first to see her." he mumbled. “When Elise and Amélie arrived, Aaron was the first to see them and it isn’t fair.” the adults all laughed and Matthew assured him that he would see her before anyone else, even before her parents.

  
“Alright, alright.” announced Cordelia, “Now we really have to go, so you take Bea-” she passed the little girl to Matthew, who placed her on his chest, and the big eyes of a blue Herondale stared at him like he was food and she was starving. “Don’t forget their bag when you leave.”

  
“Are you sure they won’t bother Lucie?" James asked from the entrance of the apartment.

  
Matthew looked at Owen shaking his head, whispering to him so that only he could hear  him , “As soon as we get home I’ll let you  eat the m&m’s cookies I made yesterday.” he winked at  the child .

  
“Matthew?” James was finishing cleaning up.

  
“Yeah, I’m sure. She won’t even notice they’re there. She’s so into the book that I have to force her to eat, it’s unbelievable.”

  
“Tonight I’ll call her." Cordelia said, worried, "I don’t like it when deadlines approach.”

  
“Tell me about it.” Matthew murmured, sniffing the child’s head in his arms sneakily. God, he couldn’t wait to hold _his_ daughter. 

  
“I really don’t understand how she can stop caring about herself in this way-”

  
James interrupted what would surely have been a monologue, “Daisy, we really have to go.” he bent down to give a kiss on the forehead of his children.  
“Yeah, I’m sorry." she said her goodbyes to the kids and Matthew and then they all went out, taking separate ways in the street.

Bea was cooing with delight when he placed her in the car seat next to his brother and started singing,  always given that the strange sounds she made could be called words, along with Owen when Matthew started the music.

"Did you put the seatbelt on?" he asked, checking from the mirror if Owen had done so. An amused scream echoed in his ears when _Dance Monkey_ started and he burst out laughing, turning up the volume. That song was like a glass of pure adrenaline for their children.

It was a particularly mild day in London and  he  would have taken them  t o Hyde Park  for a bit ,  with the hope of not disturbing Lucie while  the last revision was over.

It was always like that, he thought as he waited for the light to turn green. Every time the deadlines approached, his wife stopped thinking. Only h er characters and  her words existed. Unfinished or unnecessary scenes and chapters. The mental  breakdowns of the last minute when  s he started saying meaningless things, like ‘this book has to be burned, I can't  publish this’ .

And Matthew had always been there.

Even before they  became a couple, Matthew was a constant presence during those last days.  H e brought her food every day, even when they were not living together,  after a bad  episode in which she had had to be brought to the hospital because she hadn't  grabbed  even a small piece of bread  in three days. Cordelia had gone to see her and when Lucie had opened the door she had been so dizzy that she had fallen on her friend.

He turned on Boundary Row, looking back on that day.  Sh e had  scared everyone to death.

" Uuncle ." he heard  Owen  call ing from behind, took a quick look at the rear seats, and found Bea staring at him while holding the pacifier in  her hand. "Can you give us the phone?"

"No, Owy, we here. Look." he pointed at one of the houses on Miter Road. The boy started to jump on the seat, clapping his little hands.

He parked in front of his  house and before taking his  nephews h e opened the front door, so he  w ouldn't have  to  put anything on the ground. He was about to turn when he felt a grunt of pain coming from the upper floor.

" _Matthew!_ "

His heart stopped beating in his chest .

He looked at Owen, who was playing with Bea, and ran up the stairs while all the worst scenarios imaginable were forming in his head. He climbed the last few steps, tripping on the carpet, and strode towards their room. His already panting breath stopped in his throat.

What if she  had fallen while he wasn't there? What if  s he  had  had other complications?  W hat t if -

"Where are you Lucie?"

Another groan of pain and his stomach fell to his feet. "I’m in  the bathroom."

Now that he felt her so close, so distressed, he could see things more clearly.

He opened the door of the small bathroom wide and saw her sitting on the edge of the tub with her legs wide open, while with one hand she clutched the edge of the sink and the other was on her bulging belly. At  her f ee t a pool of water. Matthew looked her in the face and saw that  s he was crying.

He hurried over to her and put a hand on her  cheek , "What happened? Are you  okay? "

Lucie squeezed her hand harder, closing her eyes, "I think I'm gonna have the baby."

Matthew's eyes widened, the feeling of panic only increasing.

" What ?"

"You have to take me to the hospital,  Math,  my  water just broke." Lucie was pleading him.

He immediately  went full father mode. He ran a hand over her forehead,  moving her hair out of her  sight . "Look at me, Lu."

She did as she was told.

"Down stairs, in the car, are Bea and Owen." a sound of despair escaped her lips as her eyes filled with tears. Matthew's words stuck in his throat.

"Call my mom, please." she pleaded, while a sob twisted her sweaty face. "I want mom."

"I will call  her when we’re  at the hospital, now c’ mon ,” he put his arm around her hips and with a slow movement, which made her  wail with pain,  he  managed to put her on her feet. "I'll take you  to the car and then I'll come get the bag, okay?" Lucie nodded between deep breaths. Matthew nodded in turn, starting to breathe with her. "Can you make it downstairs?"

Lucie looked at him and gave him a tired smile, "I  kinda  have to, don't I?"

Matthew felt bad for her, but still managed to return the smile. "I guess so." he put his  other  hand to hold her under  her arms.

They reached the stairs and he positioned himself behind Lucie, while she leaned completely against his chest. "Math?" she almost whispered.

Matthew snorted a breath  through his no s trils , forcing himself and holding her up the bottom steps,

"You almost made it."

Lucie shook her head, "No, it's not that-"  she  was interrupted by what Matthew imagined to be a particularly strong contraction, because  s he squeezed his hand so tight that it  could have  blocked his circulation, and a thought crossed his mind like a train that derails.

"God, Lu. Why didn't you call me as soon as the contractions started?" he said in her ear, while with his arm he tried not to  push on  her belly.

" Because -" Lucie muttered a  bad word, "-because you  took my phone this morning."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." she chuckled, "You could have chosen any other day, you know, to play thief." she heaved a sigh of relief when they arrived on the ground floor and holding on to the wall to walk, she dragged herself out of the house. Owen, who saw her come out, pushed himself against the car window, getting into her sister's high chair, he began to pound his hands on the glass while smiling. Bea was whining behind him.

Lucie turned to Matthew,  making him take a step  back , but  he  was immediately at  her side half a second later. "I don't think I can hold back." she said worriedly as wrinkles formed on her forehead.

Matthew put a hand on her back and she closed her eyes as if she hadn't waited for anything else, "Don't worry, Bea will never remember today and I promised Owen that he would see Joye first, so he won't think about anything else." he smiled hopefully and she nodded.

As soon as they opened the car door, Owen was already  shouting of joy to  her. Matthew circled the car, opening the side of his  nephew , drawing his attention by bending over at his height.

Owen looked at him with wide, excited eyes.

"Well, buddy, aunt Lucie is going to have JJ, okay?" the dark head snapped towards his aunt, who was focusing on her breathing, "She's very afraid and I have to go up and get the other things, could you hold her hand while I'm gone?" he asked, eyeing his wife, who now had a tight grip on the door handle with clenched teeth. "Also remind her to take slow, deep breaths, maybe." Owen nodded in confusion, but was immediately between the two front seats, with his little hand stretched out towards Lucie, who held back a sob as she squeezed it.

Matthew ran up the stairs and then into their bedroom, taking everything he had prepared a few weeks earlier.

He got into the car and, after checking that everyone had their seatbelt on, pressed on the accelerator. A hand went to Lucie's leg, "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to  have to push a person out of my  little  butterfly," she hissed through gritte d teeth, trying not to be heard by Owen, "how  can you  even think  I’ m okay?"

Matthew nodded, "You're right, sorry."

Lucie said nothing until three minutes later, when they entered the street of Saint Thomas Hospital, and a desperate scream, which had managed to escape the girl's control, made its way into the small cockpit of the car. Lucie began shaking her head frantically, while hugging her baby bump with her hands.

Matthew  halted in front of the emergency entrance and turned his hea d to his wife. He unbuckled her belt and in the meantime looked at the children who were with them. Owen had his hands over his ears and had approached Bea's high chair, which was looking around even more confused.

"Math." Lucie breathed. "Math, something is wrong." her words broke and Matthew nearly started crying. He couldn't show how scared he was. He had to try and be strong for her.

"We are  at the hospital, whatever is wrong, they will help you and I will be there with you.  Al right?" he tried not to  freak out and got out of the car. He opened Owen's door, letting him out and reaching into the car, he released Bea's  seat belt, taking her in his arms.

Lucie had managed to open the door alone, but was still sitting.

Two  doctors were approaching with a wheelchair. Matthew thanked God when they helped her out of the car and sat her down, starting to ask her questions, evaluating everything.

"Matthew!" Lucie called him, turning her head back, and he only had time to take the bag,  put it on his shoulder, take Owen by the hand and start running towards the entrance.

He joined her shortly after, and her hand tightened around his arm.

"Uncle, what's wrong with  a unt ie ?" Owen asked with tears in  his eyes as he squeezed his sweaty hand.

Matthew was panicking.

Bea burst into tears when one of the nurses yelled to call the obstetrics and gynecology wards and couldn't hold back any longer. A single tear ran down his cheek.

He looked at Lucie, trying to keep up with the doctors and when they reached a room that had equipment and a bed, someone put a hand on his chest, blocking  him . Lucie's hand slipped from his arm.

"Excuse me sir, you can't stay here and you have to take the children away." he looked down at the sympathetic gaze of one of the nurses. He shook his head in confusion.

"No, I can't leave her alone." he couldn’t understand. How could they think about asking him to leave when Lucie was yelling his name, asking him to stay beside her? It was true, Owen and Bea were crying, as shocked as he was by the new mother's screams of pain, but he couldn't leave.

“I'm sorry, but  you can't  stay here. My colleague will accompany you to the waiting room. As soon as we know something I will come and tell you, okay?" retried the nurse.

No, it wasn't  okay . Lucie was pleading  him  from inside the room to join  her .  Face red  and cheeks  strained with tears. Someone told him to step aside and then  someone shoved him . A woman in a pink  cap looked at him badly and  screamed at the nurses to  bring him out.

When he turned to Lucie, however, he smiled at her.

The door closed in front of him and Matthew was pushed  away from the room. He still could hear everything. Every doctor who moved in that room to  help his daughter.

_ His daughter. _

He was about to become a father.

He needed James.

He started to breathe quickly and could not get enough air. He  left Owen's hand,  who sobbed, and brought it to his throat.  _ Where was James? _

"Sir?" the  same  nurse approached him with a folder in her hand. "Are you feeling well?"

Matthew looked at her and his vision blurred, he could barely say no, shaking his head.

"Your wife is in the hands of the best doctors in London, don't worry." she said gently, "Come on, give me the baby." Bea's weight was lifted from his arms and the bag fell to the ground. He was already breathing  more easily , but the panic had not eased  yet .

" She is one of the nannies in the nursery  and will stay with them in the waiting room until you have calmed down, okay?"

Matthew nodded again. He was looking at the woman, but he couldn't see her. He could not think clearly.

Lucie was about to give birth.

_ Where's James? _

"I have to  call someone ."  he  whisper ed .

The nurse nodded, "I  really meant it , don't worry, women come on the verge of giving birth every day from those doors and they're all fine in the end."  s he put a hand on his arm. "You already have two beautiful children, I'm sure the third one will be just as beautiful  and healthy ."

"They-"  he  cleared his throat. “They are my  nephews . I  don’t  have children."  _ not yet _ , he thought.

"Uh, sorry." the nurse turned red. " C ongratulations,  then ."

He nodded. It seemed to be the only thing he could do without bursting into tears.

He was about to ask where the children had been brought, so he could calm them down - god, he had left them with a stranger while they were both crying desperately - when the door of the room where he had left Lucie swung open and all the staff came out, dragging the bed.

“Alert surgery that we are coming. The baby is breech." said the woman with the pink cap.

Matthew took a step towards Lucie, who had an oxygen mask on her face and was crying.

"Lucie!" he called out. Her head snapped to Matthew who reached her in a few steps. He left room for the doctors and took her hand.

“Dads can't enter the room, I’m sorry. You’ll have to wait outside." the doctor said. Matthew didn’t even consider her and tried not to trip over the wheels of the bed as he bent over Lucie and pushed his forehead against hers.

"I'm scared, Math." she squeezed his hand tighter. Matthew's stomach twisted a little more. "Please come with me. I'm scared." she sobbed into the mask.

The boy closed his eyes shaking his head, "I can't Lu."

"Please." she cried.

Matthew looked up at the doctors, but the woman shook her head with her lips reduced to a thin line. They had entered the elevator and he hadn't even noticed.

“I'll wait out here, okay? I'll wait with everyone else. I’ll call Jamie and Tessa as soon as you enter the room, so when you get out they will all be here. " a sob rose in his throat, but he managed to keep it down.

Lucie was shaking, but she nodded. “I also want dad. I want my dad. "

"Of course." Matthew reassured her. Lucie raised a hand and moved the mask, raising her head. He lowered himself even further, meeting her lips halfway.

Emotions threatened to overwhelm him, but he managed not to burst into tears while the doctors ordered him one last time to let her go, or the baby would have had problems. He broke away from the bed and then Lucie was going through another corridor alone, terrified.

When he would see her again, they would have been parents.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I legit cried writing this, hope you enjoy it;)

Matthew managed to get to the waiting room asking someone to take him there.

He was obviously still in shock. Everything had happened so quickly.

He entered the small room, smiling at Owen, who was playing with another girl on the carpet. As soon as the little one saw him, he snapped up and ran towards him, jumping on him.

Matthew grabbed him, squeezing him to his chest. Little Bea, who was in the arms of one of the nursery nannies, wriggled into the woman's arms and stumbled towards her uncle. Matthew lowered himself just in time to pick up the child and then sat down on one of the chairs, with both nephews in his arms.

"How's aunt Lucie?" Owen asked in a small voice, almost as if he were afraid of the answer.

Matthew sighed, struggling to smile. "JJ is throwing a tantrum and won't come out," he said, chuckling at Owen's frown. "Or rather, she wants to come out, but she's doing it the wrong way, so auntie needs an extra hand. But the doctors are good." he explained, trying to convince himself it was true. _They're doctors. They know what they're doing._

The fact that Dr. Chapman wasn't there was making him a little nervous. She had followed the whole pregnancy, and they even made the birth plan, even though they knew things could change any minute. But at least she knew Lucie, she knew what her worries were, what problems she had had during the last few months.

His heart started beating fast again. He had to calm down.

He looked at the two children, who had collapsed on him and were holding hands. That vision lightened some of the weight in his chest.

"I have to call someone, can you wait here for a while?" he asked, getting up without waiting for an answer. Owen nodded, going back to the little girl he was playing with earlier and Bea was taken by one of the nannies. Matthew thanked her with a simple nod and a soft smile.

He left the room and headed out into the fresh air. He needed a moment alone.

He reached the car and got in, moving it from where he had left it in the middle of the road and parked it where he could. He turned it off and picked up the phone with a trembling breath.

He quickly dialed James's number and, after a couple of rings, his best friend's cheerful voice answered. "What, you can't keep two kids an entire afternoon anymore? Joye's gonna be here any day now and you're not gonna get fr-"

Matthew interrupted him. "We're at the hospital. Lucie is having the baby."

Silence. He heard someone apologizing and then some muffled noises. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Please come here." a sob broke that thin bubble of tranquility he had created. "Lucie is in surgery. The baby is breech and she’s having a c-section."

Matthew, who was crying now, squeezed into his shoulders. "I don't know what to do, Jamie."

"I'm coming, Math." he heard James say. "Have you called Mom and Dad yet? Your parents?"

"No, the surgery just started," he said, remembering one thing, "Your kids are with nurses, don't worry."

James laughed lightly, but he didn't seem amused at all. Matthew heard a door slam. "I'm not worried about my kids. I know the nannies keep them for you. We left them Owen when Bea was born."

Matthew ran his hand over his face, sobbing. "I don't know what to do." he repeated.

"I know, Math. Try to calm down in the meantime. I'll warn the others, alright? You try to distract yourself with my kids, if you can." suggested him. He could have done that. He could have at least tried.

He ended the call and decided to go back in case someone came looking for him and he wasn't there. He started running towards the entrance. How stupid, what if something happened while he wasn't there?

He reached the waiting room and was relieved not to see a doctor waiting for him.

He waved to Owen with one hand and took Bea in his arms. She was tired and hungry and fussing in his arms. He placed his hand on her back, rocking her gently. "I know, love, I know." he whispered in her hair. "Soon your daddy will come and you can eat all you want. You just have to hold on a few more minutes."

He looked at the clock on the wall. Less than ten minutes had passed.

He knew the c-section was a normally quick procedure. That the baby was born between ten and fifteen minutes.

He started cradling Bea a little more frantically.

He was trying not to think of Lucie, on a hospital bed, with her belly open, crying alone in that operating room, but it was difficult for him. He tried not to think about his daughter, little Joye, who was being taken out of her crib, that had been her home for the last nine months and who could not be with her mother except for mere seconds. He held Bea tighter to his chest, and the baby took the pacifier out of her mouth, resting it on his neck.

He shuddered at the sensation of the baby's drool dripping into his shirt, but he smiled with watery eyes when Bea pulled herself slightly away from his chest and pushed the pacifier against his chin, missing a few inches from his mouth.

"No thanks, baby." he said, kissing her cheek. "I'll pass."

Bea, who understood everything with impressive rapidity despite her almost three years of age, put it back in her mouth and leaned her head in the hollow of his neck, slurring a silent 'okay'.

Another ten minutes went by and he was starting to fret. Why wasn't anybody calling him? Why weren't they telling him how Lucie was doing?

"Matthew."

He almost burst into tears at the sound of her mother's voice. He turned to the door and there, in all her grace, was Charlotte Fairchild. The woman gave him a worried smile and then Matthew found himself in his mother's arms.

"How are you?" she asked, as she pulled away and took Bea from his arms. The little girl, who had fallen asleep in the meantime, wailed a little as she was passed by, but closed her eyes as soon as she touched her acquired grandmother's shoulder.

"Bad," he said sincerely. "Lucie has been in there for almost half an hour and I know nothing."

Charlotte seemed thoughtful as she swung left and right to keep Bea asleep. "I'm sure everything is going well. When I gave birth to Charles, I was in surgery just for an hour. Joye's definitely already born. They must be checking her," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "Don’t worry."

Matthew looked at her, leaning against the wall. Charlotte gave him another smile and then walked towards Owen.

"Where's dad?" he asked, curious as to why they hadn't arrived together.

His mother didn't even look at him as he put the child down and handed her a toy car to play with. "He's on his way. He was with Will and Tessa. They should be here any minute."

He paused, hesitant. "And Charles?"

"I warned him as soon as I arrived. He hasn't answered me yet." this time she looked him in the eye and Matthew puffed, anxious. He didn't particularly want to see Charles, but his daughter was born and would have liked him to be there with them, despite everything he had put Thomas and Alastair through. He was still his brother, he was part of the family.

He went out of the waiting room, running his hand through his hair. How could it be so stressful for him, when the one who was suffering was Lucie? When the one who had just been deprived of the joy of natural childbirth was the mother of his daughter?

"Math."

Before he could turn around, James' arms were holding him. He opened his eyes wide, holding his friend in turn, looking into the eyes of a worried Cordelia. She had one hand to her neck, holding the daisy necklace that Jamie had given her.

He released a trembling breath, before holding James tighter and burst into tears.

"It's okay." he muttered to him. "It's alright. Lucie and Joye will be alright."

Matthew cried louder and then felt Cordelia join in the embrace. She was crying, too. He could feel it as his friend's body trembled to the rhythm of his own, shaken by sobs.

James pulled away and grabbed Matthew by the shoulders. His eyes were red, but he wasn't crying. His gaze shifted to something behind the blond. "Why don't you go meet your daughter?" he soothed.

Matthew turned around and one of the doctors who had gone with Lucie smiled at him. "Pleasure, I'm Dr. Johnson, I'm the midwife who delivered your daughter. Your wife is still in surgery, they're closing her up, but she asked us to tell you that you can see the baby. They're both fine." she told him in a calm but excited voice.

Matthew sobbed, holding his hand over his mouth, nodding.

He turned one last time to James and Cordelia and she said, "Go on, don't keep her waiting, I'm sure she's just as excited to meet her father as he is."

He was about to say something, but Owen came out of the waiting room and jumped on his father's arms. James grabbed him and laughed and twirled him in the air.

"Daddy!" cried the boy. Cordelia went into the room and took Bea from his mother's arms. He saw the moment Cordelia told Charlotte that Joye was born because the new grandmother had also burst into tears and had both hands to her face.

The doctor pointed him down the hall, "This way."

"Wait a minute, sorry." The woman signaled to him that there was no problem.

Charlotte hugged him tightly, congratulating him, like everyone else present. Two fathers who were waiting there also gave him a nod of sympathy.

Matthew approached James and Owen and his best friend smiled at him as he had not done in a long time. He turned to the little boy in James' arms, "Did I promise you you'd see JJ first or not?"

Owen squeaked into his father's arms and almost fell to the ground. He grabbed his uncle's pants with both hands, eyes and mouth wide open. "Yes. Please."

Then he turned to the doctor, worried he'd promised something he shouldn't have, "Can he come too?"

She smiled, "Sure."

Owen started jumping, screaming like a pterodactyl.

"But you have to be quiet because there are a lot of very small children sleeping, okay?" the doctor warned him. Owen shook his head, pretending to sew his mouth shut.

They started walking and Matthew could feel James's look burning on his back.

He was a father. He was about to meet his daughter.

Owen was jumping next to him, almost unable to contain the emotion, and Matthew was a little jealous he couldn't jump too, or they'd think he was crazy.

Joye was born.

 _His Joye_.

Without even realizing it, he sought the hand of his nephew, who without even asking himself too many questions, took it and gave him a smile that went from ear to ear. He knew that the others were happy for him and Lucie, but he was satisfied with the reaction his nephew was having for the birth of his child. He was a perfect brother to Bea, he knew he would be just as perfect for little Joye.

Yet Matthew was torn between waiting for Lucie to come out so that they could meet their daughter together and doing it all by himself. He had seen that, in movies, the baby was given to the mother for a few seconds, right after birth, so he knew that Lucie had already met her, but this was different. They should have seen her together.

He just wanted to see Lucie. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. That she was a superhero for what she had just done.

Dr. Johnson turned left a couple of times and then they took the stairs. They went up two floors and then Matthew got lost. Owen was particularly quiet and the new daddy was trying to keep the excited giggles threatening to come out of his mouth. His heart was beating so fast that he wondered how others could not hear him.

How could the world go on undisturbed when the most beautiful thing in his life had just made its first appearance on this planet? How could everyone keep walking or running towards their goals without feeling their legs give in under the enormity of everything that had just happened?

How could Lucie, the woman to whom Matthew had given heart and soul, not be worshiped for what she had just given him?

 _Luce, my Lu_.

How come they were all going the other way? How could it be that the invisible force that was pushing him towards his daughter was only pulling him?

Johnson stopped in front of a glass door and turned towards the two males, who were both dying of emotion. "The girl is probably doing her last checks, but you can go in and see her quietly. It's the second room on the right. I'm going to check how Lucie is going and I'll come over, okay?" she asked, rubbing her hands on her scrubs.

"Sure. Thank you very much." replied Matthew with his heart in his throat.

She ducked her head and smiled and then opened the door with a pass, letting them in alone.

From there, the hallway seemed to never end and he could hear more children crying than he had ever seen in his entire life. He could smell Bea's head everywhere. It was overwhelming.

Owen was pulling him to the room where Joye would be, but for him, it was all going slow. As soon as he walked through that door, he'd be in the same room with his daughter.

His eyes filled with tears. Maybe he had been wrong to bring Owen. Maybe he should have gone back and left him with James and Cordelia. He should have met Joye alone.

Before he could think about it, he found himself in front of the room, and Owen had let go of his hand, running to the smallest crib he'd ever seen.

A doctor was keeping a hand on the little white bundle inside of it. The hand so big compared to that little thing.

He took two unsteady steps to the crib, and the doctor noticed someone had walked in when Owen grabbed onto the woman's pants, "Is Joye in there?"

She seemed taken by surprise and gasped a couple of times before turning to the father. A wide smile opened on the woman's lips. "You must be Matthew. Lucie wouldn't stop talking about you during the surgery," she told him, but he kept his eyes fixed on that milk-white blanket. He saw her move and burst into tears as he laughed and took a stride to his daughter.

And there she was.

Her skin red and her eyes wide open, light-colored, looking at everything without really seeing anything. She held up her hand over the head and her little fingers opened and closed. Her mouth was open and she was babbling. She was probably hungry.

His vision blurred and he let a choked laugh out. He put his hand over his face, turning to the doctor, "Can I hold her?"

"Of course." she replied promptly, "Have you ever held a newborn? Do you know how to hold her head without hurting her?" she asked, making sure Matthew knew what to do.

"I- yes. I've picked up a lot of babies, I have a lot of nephews, you know. This is Owen, and he's one of the oldest. Then there's Aaron, Elise, Amélie - Elise's twin sister - and Isidore and Bea. Sweet little Bea..." Matthew was blurting nonsense with tears flowing undisturbed, but he couldn't get over the fact that the sweet, silent creature they'd waited so long for was really there. "And now our beautiful Joye."

At the sound of her father's voice saying her name, the girl turned to him. He knew she couldn’t see him, but that little gesture warmed his heart.

"I want to see her, uncle!"

"Come, can I lift you up?" the woman asked him. Owen seemed to think about it a little, and then he turned to Matthew, who nodded in between a sob and another. "My name is Anne."

Owen he blew out his cheeks, "My aunt's name is Anna, too, but with two As" he chuckled as she lifted him. "That's a pretty name." he whispered to her when he was near her face. She blushed. Matthew let out a laugh. Like father, like son.

"She looks like grandma Tessa." Owen said then. Matthew didn't know whether it was an insult, considering that all children always looked like old men, with all the wrinkles they had when they were born and that lost look, or simply a fact, but he had said it with so much love in his voice.

Joye squirmed in the cot, and Matthew stretched himself over her, putting his hand under her neck and head. The other went behind her back, to support her back, but she was so small that his hands touched each other, and he was quite sure he could hold her with one hand, perhaps when she grew stronger and he would not risk breaking her if he touched her.

He positioned her against his chest and sat in the chair where mothers usually sit to breastfeed.

He brushed her cheek. It was so smooth and soft. Joye grimaced.

Owen, meanwhile, had complained that he had barely seen her and was looking for a way to climb into the armrest of the chair. As soon as he perched on her uncle's shoulder, she sighed, "She's as beautiful as grandma Tessa, too."

Matthew laughed, making Joye shake a little, "It's true. She has aunt Lucie's nose though." Anne had gone out and left them alone.

"Can I touch her?"

"Are your hands clean?" he asked without taking his eyes off the girl. She was gaping like a fish and it was mesmerizing. Owen nodded his head. "No, you haven’t washed them, buddy. You just touched a whole hospital, basically."

"Then your hands are dirty too!" the child accused him.

Matthew made a grimace that was his daughter's twin. "You're right."

"Mhmh."

"Alright, but not the mouth or the hands," he said, settling down so that Owen was closer to Joye. "And be careful with her head."

"I know. Mom told me we can't play together because she's too small and the head is too big." he continued as he extended a chubby little hand towards his cousin's arm. The boy doubted whether Cordelia had used those exact words, but nodded. Owen grazed her with his fingertips, as if afraid of hurting her. "Dad" he whispered this time, "also told me that little kids can't see us. And that they have a hole in their head." Matthew chuckled.

They remained silent for some time. Owen continued to caress his daughter gently.

God, he couldn't believe it. She was so beautiful. So little.

And it was theirs. His and Lucie's.

"She looks a little like Bea, too."

Matthew frowned, coming out of that strange trance he was in. He turned to Owen, "What are you even talking about?"

Owen seemed offended and pouted, "She has blue eyes like Bea."

Matthew turned to his daughter who had her eyes wide open. That was clearly a green. A green destined to turn as dark as his. "No, Owy, they're green."

"You're just jealous because she doesn’t look like you." he retorted.

The blond snorted, but before he could answer, a voice he knew all too well answered by the door. "You're so right, Owen. He's just jealous because JJ looks exactly like me."

Matthew's head snapped up as his eyes filled with tears again. She smiled at him with eyes just as glossy.

" _Lucie._ "


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking finally I'd say. Enjoy:)

"Auntie!" cried Owen, hopping out of the chair and starting jumping around while the nurses brought the bed in the middle of the room.

The girl narrowed her eyes to the shrill sound and then smiled tiredly when Joye, still in the arms of a distraught Matthew, burst into tears.

Anne returned to the room, followed by dr. Johnson, but Matthew could not take his eyes off his wife.

He had already got up and started cradling the baby so as to calm her as he approached the bed.

"Hey." Matthew whispered, bending over and trying not to hurt the baby. Lucie smiled with bright eyes, "Hey," she raised her hand to her husband's face. When Matthew leaned down to give her a kiss, she burst into tears and seconds later he, too, was sobbing as he passed the baby to her.

The second Joye was on her mother's chest, she stopped crying as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks undisturbed. Matthew arranged the blanket covering the baby so that it was positioned correctly.

Lucie sensed the presence of the doctors and nurses, she felt Owen rejoicing that he had another cousin and friend and was bragging about little Joye's beauty, but the new mother was too focused on her daughter's face as she looked at her with those giant clear eyes and made a few sounds from time to time.

Matthew was stroking her hair and had his lips just above her ear, he was whispering sweet nothings to her and the anxiety and pain she had felt so far vanished in a second.

She had done it.

She had delivered Joye.

Joye was fine, she was healthy and in her arms.

Dr. Johnson explained to them how the next few hours would be and how many days she'd be in the hospital. What checkups she and the baby would have to go through, and visiting hours. She watched everything carefully as Joye began to scream in her arms again, but Matthew was the one who picked up every bit of information. He was also asking questions and they seemed quite important, but Lucie couldn't listen, she was too tired. She just wanted to sleep.

She reached out her hand to her husband's and he moved to join them, preventing her from making any further efforts. The look full of adoration and worry that he gave her almost made her burst into tears again.

"What is it?" he asked her and squeezed her hand.

She shook her head, closing her eyes, "I just want to feed her and then rest a little." She whispered, trying to move slightly so that she was in a sitting position. A twinge of pain passed through her abdomen as the stitches on the incisions pulled the skin.

The doctor nodded, making a grimace of compassion, "Yes, my darling, as we have already explained, you must be very careful when you move and especially when you hold the baby in your arms. Sometimes they can have spasms and it happened to tear the stitches, but don't worry, you're under close observation and whatever happens, you can always call a nurse and I'll be with you as soon as possible".

The Johnson stretched herself slightly on the bed and squeezed her ankle lovingly and then only the three of them and a nurse remained in the room, ready to explain to her how to breastfeed and help her.

Lucie closed her eyes and put her head on the pillow and sighed, realizing one very important thing, "Where is Owen?"

Matthew looked at her with a lopsided smile on his face, "The nanny took him back to Jamie and Cordelia. Don't worry." He kissed her again, but this time he lingered.

The nurse coughed, "If you want me to come back later, it's no problem."

Lucie waited for Matthew to answer, with her eyes still closed, but when she was met with silence, she opened one eye, finding herself an amused Math a few inches from her face. He would not answer because it all depended on if Lucie felt too tired. Her heart clenched in her chest.

She loved him so much that sometimes she forgot that love was reciprocated.

She couldn't get over the fact that Matthew had waited so long to meet their daughter and finally share that moment with her, and instead every three seconds they were interrupted. She could see, from the way his knee was bouncing, that he couldn't wait to be alone with his two girls, but he understood that the doctors had to help her and that there was nothing he could do as of now.

"Nono, show me what to do so I can get her to eat and then I can rest."

While the nurse helped her undress and position the baby so that she wouldn't choke, Matthew held his hand around her shoulders and kissed her head continuously.

As soon as they were sure that Joye was eating and Lucie was in a comfortable position, the nurse left them alone and the silence in that room, filled only by the sucking of Joye's little mouth, overwhelmed her and, taking a trembling breath, she caressed her daughter's rosy cheek.

"I'm so proud of you," Matthew whispered. Lucie did not take her eyes off Joye. "So proud, Luce."

There was a brief pause and then, "I’m sorry."

Lucie's head snapped to the left, looking for Matthew's gaze, but the boy, or rather the man, was focused on the baby girl. He was avoiding looking at Lucie.

"Why would you apologize?"

Matthew sighed and leaned over his daughter, kissing her head and sitting by the bed. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the mattress, taking one of her hands between his own and kissing each finger. "I know it's not my fault that Joye was breech, and I know it wasn't me who decided not to go into the operating room, but I'm sorry you had to go through all of it alone." he gave her a sad smile, but there was no trace of that sadness in his eyes. They shone as bright as the day she announced her pregnancy. Lucie shook his hand, smiling in turn. He definitely felt sorry for her, but he was also way too happy to let that sadness fog his mind.

"I'm glad everything went well," she answered. She had been petrified by fear in the operating room and had asked so many times about Matthew that at some point the assistant who had to calm her down had asked her to describe him. Lucie panicked and described all the Matthews she had known in her life. The child Matthew, her brother's best friend. The teenage Matthew, the one she had a colossal crush on that she knew would never be reciprocated. The young Matthew, who had cried for her when she confessed to him that she had gotten with someone else. And the man Matthew, with whom she had fallen in love and for whom she would kill and cross the Underworld. The Matthew who stood beside her.

"So do I, my love," he chuckled softly, "so do I."

They remained silent, contemplating the beauty of that little creature who already had so much power over their lives.

Out of nowhere, Lucie burst out laughing and Joye broke away from her breasts, drooling milk wherever her head moved. Matthew immediately stood up to fix her head again with an amused expression, "What are you laughing at?"

The mom would not stop laughing, but in the meantime, she had brought a hand to her face and now, amidst the laughter, tears had appeared. Matthew, at the sight of all those mixed emotions, burst out laughing in turn, falling back in his chair and clutching his stomach.

"We have a daughter, Math." Lucie's laughter calmed down and she dried her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Oh my God, we have a daughter."

Matthew sat in his chair and nodded, giggling like a schoolgirl. "We have a daughter."

"You're a dad and I'm a mom."

"I'm a dad and you're a mom."

Lucie looked at him with the most beautiful smile Matthew had ever seen on her and whispered to him, "I love you."

Almost an hour had passed and Lucie was finally getting her well-deserved rest. Matthew was having a conversation with Joye. He was impressed by how many sounds his little girl was making despite the few hours of life.

"I think so too, you know? I mean..." whispered the father as he kept looking at her with a serious expression, "... how come they're raising the price of chips so high? I don't think there's a shortage of potatoes in the world. I just don't get it."

Joye had exactly the same look on her face as she answered with several 'oooh' and 'aaah'.

This went on for a while until the baby closed her eyes and Matthew was supposed to put her in the crib, let her sleep in peace, without rocking her left and right, but he couldn't get away from his daughter.

A movement to his right caught his attention and when he looked up he saw Lucie with her eyes open, looking at them with a dreamy expression.

Lucie stretched her hands forward, towards them, and opened and closed her fists, like a little girl having a tantrum, and Matthew chuckled, trying not to move too much and to wake Joye up.

He approached the bed and passed the girl to Lucie, who held her to her chest and sniffed her little head.

"Right?" Matthew said quietly, knowing exactly what his wife was doing.

Lucie didn't even answer him. "Maybe we should call the others up here. You know, introduce them to the new girl."

Matthew whined, "Do we have to?" Lucie raised one eyebrow, "I mean, after she meets her grandparents and uncles, my role will become obsolete." The other eyebrow shot up too. Matthew kept looking at Joye.

"What are you talking about?"

"I read on the internet," Lucie snorted, Matthew glared, "- I read on the internet that dads can have trouble at first, building a relationship with the baby. For you mothers it's simple, you're food, you're indispensable. I'm just a warm chest to lean on for a nice nap, and that's something everybody knows how to do."

Lucie would have laughed, really, but she understood that Matthew was not joking from the deep frown on his handsome face. Now that she looked at him well, she saw the tiredness in his features, in his eyes. The stress he, too, had been under all morning.

She leaned out slightly, to put her hand on his arm and draw his attention to her. She felt as if from now on it would be impossible to receive any of it. "Matthew, you're her father."

He stared at her and the worry in his eyes didn't go away.

"You're right, now she sees me as indispensable because I represent food, but you are her father. You're the person who's talked to her every night for the last nine months. You're the voice that calmed me every time something went wrong and I'm sure she recognizes you." she reached out her arm, laid her hand on his face and with her thumb she swiped away a tear.

"Grandparents, uncles, even cousins, it's true, will be another chest to sleep on, but you will be _the_ chest." Matthew chuckled, sniffing. "And if you ever try to start a sentence with 'I read on the Internet’ again, I'll get a divorce."

He took her hand and stood up, kissing her. This time he really kissed her, teeth and tongue. A kiss that conveyed all their love and the living proof of that love, that would grow every day, was sleeping on her breast.

A choked sound interrupted their kiss and when Lucie turned towards the door she only had time to realize her father was there, before she was squeezed in a bone-crushing hug. Joye, still between her and Will, moved slightly, without waking up.

Will broke away from Lucie with tears in his eyes and slightly reddened cheeks. He placed his hand on her cheek, caressing her cheekbone, "I'm so proud, Lulu. Very, very proud."

Her lips began to tremble when her mother also approached the bed and lowered herself to her height, kissing her forehead and remaining in this position for a few seconds.

"We love you, my Lucie." Tessa sat next to her daughter, looking at her niece with shiny eyes. Will, meanwhile, had sat by the bed and was extending his hand over the pink dumpling sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"God," breathed the grandpa, "she's so _small_."

Tessa giggled, "You always make the same comment, love."

Will gave her an amused look. Tessa, in turn, did not take her eyes off little Joye and even when Charlotte and Henry entered the room, none of Herondale moved. Only Matthew approached his father, bending over so Henry could hug his son.

Charlotte approached Will, placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, trying to see her long-awaited granddaughter. Tessa stepped aside, allowing the new grandmother to see her first real granddaughter. Will did not move an inch.

"Lucie, darling, how are you?" the woman asked, and without waiting for an answer, she whispered, "She's so beautiful, she has your eyes."

Lucie giggled, looking at her husband, who grunted something from the bottom of the bed, where he looked at the ecstatic family picture and pushed Henry's wheelchair to the free side of the bed where he was before.

Lucie reached out her hand to the man, who grabbed it and held it tight, smiling at her with his shiny eyes in turn. Lucie's eyes filled up once more and she snorted loudly, attracting everyone's attention.

"What is it, my love?" Will asked with an alarmed look, passing his hand on her arm, squeezing lightly.

Lucie sniffed, "We're all so emotional, it's ridiculous. One expects the emotion to diminish after all these children, but it's stronger every time." Tessa giggled, running her hand over her cheeks.

Charlotte opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when a slight knock on the door caught everyone's attention. Matthew stiffened beside her and Lucie tried to stretch her neck in every possible way, spying on who had arrived and when Charlotte turned around and extended her arm towards the person, she saw the mass of red hair.

Charles had come.

Lucie turned around and her head snapped towards Matthew, who was clutching his hands around the handles of the wheelchair, but had a bright smile on his face. She visibly relaxed when Charles stepped into the room.

Lucie spoke hesitantly, "Hello, Charles." She gave him a shy smile, raising the baby slightly in her arms so that she could be seen by her new uncle, "Have you come to meet our new joy?"

Charles took a trembling breath and looked at both his parents, with a sad smile on his lips for the pun she had just made. Before he could move any further, Matthew had closed the distance between the two of them and was holding him in his arms. Charles seemed to stiffen in his embrace, but after mere seconds he relaxed and held his little brother in his arms.

Tessa and Will excused themselves, saying that they would go and warn the others that they could come in and before they left they both kissed their daughter and caressed the newcomer.

Lucie looked at Charlotte, who had stretched one hand over her, until she reached her husband's and noticed that her cheeks were wet. Henry just seemed very happy that something so beautiful had brought them together after all that time.

It had been months, years, Matthew and Charles hadn't hugged each other.

"Thank you for coming." Lucie heard Matthew whisper these words and then the two brothers separated.

Charles stayed with them only five minutes, meeting the child and holding her in his arms, a little hesitant, with the help of Matthew and their mother. He managed to escape a few minutes before everyone else arrived. Before Alastair arrived.

When her parents came back, they took the rest of their herd with them. Grace held Isidore in her arms, who seemed to have just woken up and behind them Christopher looked ecstatic. He was jumping left and right trying to see the baby before everyone else. Cordelia, however, was the one who made room among all and reached Lucie first, not weighed down by any child, but followed by an enthusiastic Owen. Bea was complaining in James' arms, but she seemed calmer than the twins who were both crying in Thomas' arms. Thomas, who seemed more worried than anything, was watching Alastair, standing in the hallway.

Lucie frowned, not understanding her cousin's expression. Cordelia bent over her, her eyes wide open with emotion as he watched her niece, but whispered so that she could only hear her, while the others hugged Matthew wishing him congratulations, "There's Charles outside, I think they're talking." Lucie opened her eyes wide, clenching her jaw. These were the interesting things she would have liked to hear during the long bored days of pregnancy. But now, she had other things to think about.

They were asking her millions of questions and she answered them distractedly, while Joye, who had finally deigned to wake up, went from uncle to aunt to grandfather to grandmother and was lowered to cousin height so that all the people could meet her.

Elise and Amélie, at four years of age, had immediately stretched out their hands towards her cousin and began to caress her face, both much calmer than before. Thomas seemed to have disappeared, but Grace was keeping an eye on them while Christopher was talking to Matthew.

Cordelia and Lucie were talking about the surgery, when Alastair entered the room, taking his daughter Amélie in his arms and approaching the bed to wish her well. The little girl fussed in her father's arms, saying that she wanted to look at Joye again and he apologized with an absent gaze. Cordelia made sure to tell him that they would talk later, but that he shouldn't get too wrapped up in this unexpected encounter.

Anna and Ariadne arrived shortly afterwards, taking Aaron with them, who despite being seven years old, was crying because Owen had seen Joye before him. Anna immediately came to hug her, but right after making sure she was okay and asking her the usual three questions, she turned around and went to admire little Joye.

James approached after them all, with Bea resting in his arms, and laughing he sat down on the bed next to her. She looked at him amusedly and then squealed, "I'm a mama."

James nodded, "You're a mama."

Matthew stood next to her brother and patted him on the shoulder, "She's a mama."

James nodded, reducing his lips to a thin line to avoid bursting out laughing again. He shook his head as he looked down, "You will never sleep again."

Matthew chuckled as Lucie snorted amusedly and let herself sink into the pillow.

Will, who had meanwhile settled behind the two boys, gave his son a soft blow to the back of the head, "Stop terrorizing them, or do I have to remind you of the first week you brought Owen home?"

James blushed up to the tip of his ears and muttered something between the lines _I was desperate, I'm just trying to prepare them_. Tessa laughed, caressing her daughter's head and Lucie basked in that touch.

She was happy that everyone was here.

That they were here for her baby and for her.

That they were all as excited as she was.

She turned her gaze to the little pile of children in the room, and her little girl, who was now in Thomas's arms in the midst of everyone, looked at the world around her with wide open eyes.

"God she’s so beautiful."

Assent murmurs around her gave her confirmation. Joye was beautiful.

Bea turned to James, "Daddy, I wanna see." she pointed to the middle of the room and James let her down from his legs, kissing her forehead and muttering, "Remember, don't touch her head or her little hands, all right?" Bea jumped on the spot and then ran to the others.

Matthew leaned over her and gave her a kiss on the lips, looked her straight in the eye and with a new tone, which Lucie had never heard him use, said, "I love you.

The new daddy went to fetch Joye, when she started complaining about too much attention and brought her to Lucie, placing her carefully on her mother's chest. Matthew looked at both of them and his eyes filled up again.

After a couple of hours spent chatting with her family, Lucie was ready to sleep for the rest of her life and when Matthew started kicking everyone out of the room so that her every dream could come true her heart swelled in her chest. Lucie was ready to meet the new Matthew, the dad Matthew, and she told herself mentally that she had never been so ready to face something as she was in that moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Find more on my tumblr (@julemmaes)


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